To many high school athletes playing their sport in college is a dream or goal they set early in their playing careers. This dream is something they put a lot of time and dedication into to try and make a reality. Yet according to scholarshipstats.com only 8% of high school athletes continue their careers in college. On Wednesday February 5, a group of athletes from LHS made their dreams a reality by signing their National Letter of Intent, essentially etching their names at their respective universities.
“I am very thankful that I have this opportunity because it is very rare that someone gets an opportunity like this,” senior Kaitlyn Clark said. “I am also excited to be able to play soccer at the next level.”
Years of hard work and dedication were put into making this dream happen. For an athlete during the recruiting process you may have had to give up certain things that your peers were able to experience. They may have lost time with their friends and family and missed out on opportunities to experience things they may never get to experience again but in the end for most it was all worth it.
“It was very difficult because I have gone to camps and a lot of things like that and that has taken away from time being spent with my friends and family,” Clark said. “That’s just something you have to do to get recruited.”
For many it’s a fresh start, going to a college to live with people you have never met and play with people you may have never even played with. It can be a very scary thing to think about because of the uncertainty of the future but most athletes do not just relish in this opportunity they embrace it.
“Though I’m very scared to have to build new team chemistry with new girls because I’ve been playing with the same ones since I was 10, I am also very excited for the same reason,” senior Caitlin VanVleck said. “Having a different routine and meeting new people while playing softball at a different level is extremely exciting.”
With great opportunity comes great responsibility and that rings truer with the opportunity of being a student athlete in college. You not only have to focus on school, you have to focus on being the best athlete you can be while fighting off the temptations of living on your own in college. As a student athlete a person must be able to block out everything getting in their way of success.
“I think I have a little idea of what it’ll be like because of high school but I think it will be 10 times harder,” VanVleck said. “You have to have a lot of responsibility to keep up with your schoolwork and figuring out your priorities.”
When deciding what college to go to an athlete has many things to consider. Location, cost, and the ability to play all have an effect on whether or not the school you are looking at might become your future home.
“Location was the main thing I was looking at in a school, I wanted my family to be able to see me play,” senior Ross Juliana said. “Also I wanted a school that had good academics. I was looking for a school with a consistently good baseball program as well.”
Ultimately, the decision of which school these athletes will attend comes down to the athlete making the decision. Yes, it is good to consider family, money, and everything that may factor in but in the end it is the athlete’s decision and they have to make the best decision for themselves.
“My whole family really liked the school,” senior Kyle Gabrielson said. “But in the end I really liked it and that’s all that matters.”
It has been an extremely long and grueling process for everyone at LHS involved in the recruiting process and in the end it has paid off for everyone who have the opportunity to make their dreams come true. Good luck to the current Blue Jays who will represent LHS at the next level while competing for their university.
